About the Performer

Pan Asia Symphony Orchestra

Pan Asia Symphony Orchestra is a highly organized orchestra aiming at promoting music among the general public especially the young generation in Hong Kong. In order to achieve its goal, the Orchestra has performed frequently in the Hong Kong City Hall, regional town halls and civic centres a few hundred times for more than 30 years. A number of internationally famous conductors and soloists have been invited to perform with it. By using the idioms of popular music and organizing concert talks, the Orchestra has successfully introduced serious music and Chinese orchestral music to the public, and at the same time, brought about an awareness of the indigenous culture of the people.

Music Director and Host: Dr. Yip Wai-hong

Dr. Yip Wai-hong is an eminent music educator. He served Hong Kong Baptist University as the Head of Music and Fine Arts Department for almost 30 years. He founded the Pan Asia Symphony Orchestra, Hong Kong Children’s Choir, Yip’s Children’s Choir and Hong Kong Children’s Symphony Orchestra with the aim to nourish young talents in Hong Kong.

The honours and accolades bestowed upon Dr. Yip include Honorary Citizenships of Fort Worth, Dallas and Tucson; The Golden Key of Avon Lake, Florida; Colonel of the State of Kentucky, the United States; and Hong Kong Art Education of the Year in 1990. In 2003, he was awarded the Medal of Honour of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. In 2006, he was conferred the Award of Honorary University Fellow of Hong Kong Baptist University. Dr. Yip was made the Fellows of Wells Cathedral School, the United Kingdom in 2008. Recently he was awarded the ‘2013 Montblanc de la Culture Arts Patronage Award’.

In 2011, Dr. Yip was awarded the Bronze Bauhinia Star (BBS) for his valuable contribution to children music education, as well as his dedication in promoting the development of choral and orchestral music.

Guest Conductor: Fan Tao

Fan Tao holds the rank of National First Class Conductor in China. He graduated from the Shanghai Conservatory of Music, studied composition and conducting under the famous conductor and pedagogue, Huang Xiaotong. Since 1995, he has been appointed Resident Conductor of the National Radio and Film Symphony Orchestra in Beijing. Fan is praised for performances characterized by insight, conviction, powerful sound, and expansive phrasing. The orchestras and ensembles that Fan has conducted include the Finnish National Broadcasting Orchestra, Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra, the Avanti Chamber Orchestra of Finland, the Sibelius Academy Symphony Orchestra in Finland, the Bogota Philharmonic Orchestra in Columbia, South America, the Oberlin Symphony Orchestra in the United States, the Southern Arizona Symphony Orchestra, Hopkins Symphony Orchestra, the Willoughby Symphony Orchestra in Australia and many leading orchestras in China and around the world. He often collaborates with internationally recognized soloists.

At the International Sibelius Conductors’ Competition held in Helsinki in May 2000, Fan was awarded a special prize, donated by the Sibelius Estate, by the jury which enabled him to receive a master class with Esa-Pekka Salonen. Leading music professionals at the competition commented that “Fan’s ability to control the orchestra is superb, and he is an outstanding professional conductor.” The Chairman of the jury, world-renowned maestro Esa-Pekka Salonen, was extremely impressed by Fan’s interpretation of Stravinsky’s The Rite of Spring. Fan’s subsequent performances at the annual Finnish Summer Music Festival were broadcasted on national television and were well appreciated by the public.

In the following year, he received a full scholarship to study with the renowned conductor and pedagogue, Philip Spurgeon, in the United States. In 2003, Fan premiered modern works by famous contemporary composers in the United States at the 11th Florida Contemporary Music Festival. That same year, his successful New York Carnegie Hall debut which featured contemporary music, was critically acclaimed by the media.

In 2006, Fan was chosen to conduct an orchestra drawn from the 10 countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations at the opening of ASEAN’s conference in Cambodia. His live concerts and personal interviews have been broadcasted frequently on Chinese radio and CCTV. As one of the most recorded conductors, he has produced dozens of classical CDs. In 2007, he has won “The Most Outstanding Conductor of the Year” in the Top 10 Hi-Fi Award in China.

Fan was the final juror in the final round of the Oberlin International Piano Competition in 2007 and Oberlin International Concerto in 2009.

Ticketing

Tickets available from 24 December onwards at all URBTIX outlets, on Internet and by Telephone Credit Card Booking.

Half-price tickets available for senior citizens aged 60 or above, people with disabilities and the minder, full-time students and Comprehensive Social Security Assistance (CSSA) recipients (Limited tickets for CSSA recipients available on a first-come-first-served basis)

Group Booking Discount

10% off for each purchase of 4-9 standard tickets; 15% off for 10-19 standard tickets; 20% off for 20 or more standard tickets.

Patrons can enjoy only one of the above discount schemes for each purchase. Please inform the box office staff at the time of purchase.

Programme Length

Running time of each concert is about 2 hours with an intermission of 15 minutes. Audiences are strongly advised to arrive punctually. No latecomers will be admitted until the interval or a suitable break in the programme. The presenter reserves the right to substitute artists and change the programme should unavoidable circumstances make it necessary.